Where the noise did not reach

What else can I say in Chapter 23?
With the season halfway through, Texas Tech has transformed from an ordinary strong team into a highly anticipated team that has garnered attention across the United States.

In the history of the Red Raiders, there has never been a future star who has attracted such widespread attention from the professional basketball world as Xu Ling.

Xu Ling's game-winning three-pointer from beyond the arc against the University of Texas cemented his status as a lottery pick.

Now, no team dares to underestimate them. This has propelled them from challenger to the top team being challenged.

A week later, they traveled to Reed Arena for their second game of the season against Texas A&M University.

Last time, they won big at home against China Agricultural University, and Xu Ling's defense against Asi Law shocked the scouts.

Even Asi Law himself didn't expect to be restricted to that extent.

After playing against the Agricultural and Industrial University, Xu Ling's draft comparison was changed to Ron Harper.

Interestingly, after hitting the game-winner over Durant, scouts' evaluation of him improved again, and even the setting of his draft comparison became controversial.

Some believe Xu Ling's ceiling is Jordan and his floor is Harper, but some serious scouts think Jordan isn't a suitable role model. While he might become the Jordan of college basketball, his playing style is actually quite different from Jordan's.

During his college years, Jordan was somewhat hampered by Dean Smith's four-corner offense, and his shooting ability wasn't fully developed yet. His driving ability, however, was unparalleled; he played at a frequency a cut above everyone else. But driving isn't Xu Ling's strong suit, or rather, compared to shooting, driving isn't a top priority in Xu Ling's offensive strategy.

Therefore, Kobe might be a more suitable role model.

Amid the debate, Xu Ling's template was ultimately set as: upper limit Kobe, lower limit Harper.

Looking at it this way, it finally has the makings of a potential top-ten draft pick in the NBA draft.

After all, a player's template does not represent the player's ultimate potential; it is merely a scout's vision of their technical path.

When Jalen Green was drafted, he was dubbed "the taller version of LeBron James" (a play on words, implying a combination of Jordan and Kobe). Legendary player Ben Simmons was hailed as "the taller LeBron James." Most absurdly, when Anthony Bennett unexpectedly became the number one pick, scouts offered a consolation: "Not the most logical choice, but possibly the best. Bennett is the only player in this draft class who could average 20 points per game in the NBA."

Ultimately, however, a player's development depends on their individual efforts.

Facing the Agricultural and Industrial University again, the Red Raiders players were no longer as tense as they had been the first time.

Because they knew that Asi Law could be restricted.

Tonight, Xu Ling was once again assigned to play against Lao.

This time, Law was no longer as frivolous as before: "Seeing what you did to the Longhorns, I don't think my situation is so hard to accept anymore."

"That's true." Xu Ling said in a kind tone, but his words were actually quite pointed. "After all, it's difficult for you to drag the game out until the very end."

These words made Lao's face darken.

Regardless, he's a nationally renowned guard. Aside from Mike Conley, he's practically the only point guard in this draft class with a guaranteed lottery pick. In terms of draft stock, he's not much worse than Xu Ling, so he can't afford to be weak-willed right now.

He responded coldly to Xu Ling's words: "We'll see!"

After the game started, the Agricultural and Industrial University showed strong momentum. They learned from their previous loss and tried to initiate pick-and-rolls on Lao as much as possible, rather than putting him in one-on-one situations with Xu Ling.

While this approach can amplify Lao's organizational abilities, it also heavily relies on the performance of his teammates.

Seeing the Agricultural and Industrial University's arrangement, Knight on the sidelines concluded that they were doomed to lose.

"If we had only relied on Eli's defense, we would never have gotten this far," Knight said succinctly.

In addition to defense, Xu Ling also takes the initiative to attack with the ball.

He actually cares a lot about the opinions of professionals.

These past few days, scouts have been telling him that his dribbling ability isn't good enough. Is it really not good enough? He's determined to give it a try.

Xu Ling reduced his shooting and increased his dribbling and penetration.

The answer is indeed an awkward "yes" and "no".

Compared to a beastly dribbler like Jordan who relies on sheer speed and explosiveness to overtake opponents, Xu Ling depends more on creating space through changes in rhythm and his shooting threat. He can use his excellent ball-handling skills and anticipation to create good starting positions and driving opportunities for himself.

The real challenge lies in how he uses this new body to deliver the final blow. He often feels a strange "time difference"—his brain issues a command, but his body executes a deeper instinct stemming from memories of his past life.

He would subconsciously raise the arc of his shot during confrontations and habitually choose a faster low-hand layup. These are valuable experiences from surviving among giants in the past, muscle memory formed to avoid being blocked.

These skills are still effective today, but with his height of 198 cm and wingspan of 212 cm, these movements sometimes appear overly cautious or even inefficient. He could easily lay up the ball or finish directly with his height and wingspan, but his body occasionally chooses more complex and subtle ways to dodge.

He needs more matches and competitive training to recalibrate his "body instruction manual" and fully integrate top-notch technical awareness with top-notch physical talent.

However, for a freshman who is not yet 19 years old, his desire to break through, his ability to create opportunities, and his diverse attempts at ending his life are already quite surprising.

That night, Xu Ling had scored nearly 20 points through breakthroughs, passing, and sporadic outside shots.

During a break in play, Xu Ling walked over to captain Jarius Jackson.

“Captain,” Xu Ling said in a low voice, his tone devoid of boasting, only calm analysis, “They hesitate when switching on defense. Next time you set a screen for me, don’t rush to cut to the basket. Pretend to break down the defense, then bounce back to the three-point line. Ash Law will definitely try to close the gap on me, and I’ll pass the ball to you.” Jackson was skeptical. But a few possessions later, the opportunity indeed arose. Xu Ling drove to the basket, drawing a double team. As Xu Ling had predicted, Law left Jackson, who was about to cut to the basket, open and rushed towards Xu Ling. Without even looking, Xu Ling delivered a behind-the-back bounce pass, accurately placing the ball in Jackson’s hands as he quietly retreated to the three-point line.

Jackson received the ball, with no one three meters in front of him, and calmly took the shot.

"Shh!"

Three point hit!

This goal completely halted the Chongqing Agricultural University's game. Jackson excitedly ran back to the backcourt and high-fived Xu Ling.

"How did you know?" Jackson asked incredulously.

Xu Ling simply pointed to his head: "He's already done that twice in the first half."

In the end, Xu Ling scored a game-high 24 points and delivered several key assists, leading TTU to a 14-point victory over Texas A&M University on the road.

Compared to the first game, Asi Law's performance today was excellent—16 points and 12 assists, seemingly handling both offense and playmaking. However, this was a game where he needed to double his score to have any chance of winning, but with Xu Ling on the court, his current performance may already be his limit.

"I don't know anyone else in the country who can limit Assy Law like Eli!" said college basketball expert Andy Katz. "Every time I see his intensity on both ends of the court, I'm amazed!"

Even at Reed National Stadium, the home stadium of the Agricultural and Industrial University, Xu Ling was just as popular as at the United Spirit Stadium. Many young women, eager for love, used various connections to give him their contact information. With just one phone call, they could come to him from any corner of Texas.

However, Xu Ling displayed his usual indifferent attitude towards the fans. He didn't even look at them, but simply walked up to Knight and asked, "What's the main difference between me and MJ in college?"

"Didn't you call yourself the Michael Jordan of college basketball? I thought you already considered yourself to have reached that level."

Knight wanted to mock Xu Ling, but mock a player who guarded the opponent's star player the entire time and became the game's leading scorer? He wasn't that crazy.

Knight replied seriously, "You're not as good as him in anything except shooting, but your defense is good."

“I’d conservatively estimate,” Knight laughed, “that freshman who was still called Mike Jordan was probably not as good as you before he made that shot that helped his team win the national championship.”

However, comparing him to Jordan in 1984 is not an option. That Jordan was not only the key figure in the last student-led team that swept the US Olympic team, but he also averaged 28 points per game in his rookie season in the NBA. How terrifying was that immediate impact?
Xu Ling then asked, "Was MJ like me at TTU back then?"

"No," Knight had to admit that Xu Ling was already the soul of the team; with or without him, the team was a completely different team. "Jordan was an outstanding freshman back then, but it was a completely different era than today. It was still common for outstanding players to play a full four years in college. The core of that North Carolina team was James Worthy."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ling said with renewed vigor, "If we can win the national championship, does that mean I'm better than Jordan was in college?"

This is not the first time Xu Ling has stated his intention to lead the team to victory.

However, when he said this last time, he was somewhat vague, but this time, he clearly expressed his thoughts.

"Do you know what you're talking about?"

Xu Ling, however, seemed to have a sparkle in his eyes with excitement. "But before that, I might like to use the remaining games to try more ball-handling and penetration. Coach, can I play point guard more often after that? I want to handle the ball."

"Don't fucking think you can decide the team's future tactics!" Knight roared. "You're not going to play a game in TTU where four people revolve around you!"

"Four guarantees for one, right? I think it should be four guarantees for one! Four guarantees for one is the right thing to do!"
Xu Ling could only think about it in his heart.

"What I mean is that I should hone my ball-handling offense as much as possible before the playoffs," Xu Ling said logically. "We can't win a championship just by shooting."

Xu Ling thought Knight would agree with him.

After all, isn't the idea that "you can't win a championship just by shooting" politically correct in contemporary basketball?

Knight, however, said, "We can't use the few remaining regular season games to hone your driving skills, and besides, your driving skills are already good enough for this level of competition."

"What you really need to improve is your low-post game!" Knight said, his face full of disappointment. "I just can't understand it! With your height, weight, strength, wingspan, and explosiveness, how come your low-post game is zero? And you were playing center before you came to America! If you can't post up, how did you even make it into the paint?"

Xu Ling knew this sounded absurd, but he couldn't explain the meaning of "fishing in a fishpond" to Knight. Knight, a seasoned player in the NCAA, a shark-infested league second only to the NBA, couldn't imagine that "Xu Ling himself," back in his Hong Kong high school days, could dominate like Howard and Garnett solely based on his physical talent, without needing to use post-up moves. And his past self, being one of the shortest players on the court for years, practicing post-up moves? He simply lacked the motivation and opportunity.

"I'm really not good at low-post offense."

Xu Ling honestly admitted it.

"So! What you should do right now is watch Michael Jordan's game tapes!"

"Can't I look at Kobe's style?" Xu Ling asked with an "innocent" look. "The scouting report said that my role model is Kobe."

“If you can watch Jordan’s games directly,” Knight’s temper flared up again, “why bother studying his imitators?”

Xu Ling seemed completely oblivious to Knight's almost physiological aversion to Kobe, and instead laughed as he added insult to injury: "Because the scouts said my player model is Kobe."

"Enough!" Knight finally snapped. "If you're going to waste your time on that rapist, then don't fucking come asking for my opinion again! You're just wasting my time!"

Hmm, Bob Knight, this notorious sexist, actually dislikes Kobe because of the "Eagle County" incident? Is that fair? Didn't Kobe's devastating scoring performance last season impress you? He scored more points than the entire Mavericks team in three quarters, wasn't that exciting? He racked up 81 points, a feat unmatched since Wilt Chamberlain's "forced play," wasn't that amazing?

Male
　Thank you to "I'm Short of Money," "Avalanche, Bloodshed," "I'm the Runner-up," "Nine Dragons Meet," "Little Chicken Shows Its Feet," and "Eating an Orange" for their generous donations. I'd also like to ask for your continued support in the book's collection and votes. Currently, this book is ranked third on the overall new book chart. Please continue reading, thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)